The report also showed, however, that if obesity rates remain at current levels, the United States would save nearly $200 billion in health care costs.

“At a time when Congress is looking for savings in health care, this data confirms what we already knew: obesity is where the money is,” Thorpe, who also is executive director of the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, said in a statement about the report. “Because obesity is related to the onset of so many other illnesses, stopping the growth of obesity in the U.S. is vital not only to our health—but also to the solvency of our health care system.”

The report projects that obesity will surpass 50 percent of the adult population in six states, with an associated increase in obesity-linked health spending of more than $1,600 per person in each of these states:

The obesity rate will remain below 35 percent in only four states and the District of Columbia. Despite that, obesity-related health spending will climb to more than $800 per person by 2018 in each state: